


The Morning After

by Finding_Fate



Series: The Sweetest Trip etc... [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, No Smut, amberfield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:33:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finding_Fate/pseuds/Finding_Fate
Summary: Max and Rachel did it! You know... IT! Sex! But Rachel thinks they went too far. Maybe. A little. And why can't she stop thinking about Max's feet?Also, Chloe incurs the wrath of a certain pixie haired prep queen.Note: This works just fine as a oneshot, but it's also sort of an epilogue to 'The Sweetest Trip', and hopefully a prologue to a Chaseprice thing I'd like to do. :)





	The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> I feel bad for turning the last part of TST into porn lol, so here's some cute shit.

There aren’t many everyday things Max enjoys as much as photography. Spending time with her closest friends. Admiring the work of artists she looks up to. And apparently, If her nose was to be trusted, waking up to the holy grail of hipster delights.

“Coffee?” Max grumbled, rubbing her eyes open as she sat up on Rachel’s carpet, stretching the morning from her muscles.

“Well, I _had_ planned to just stick with ‘Rachel’, but I don’t mind getting experimental with our pet names.” She sat cross legged alongside Max, sharing a loving grin, and handing her the freshly brewed beverage and a plastic box holding a muffin.

“Oh dog, I love you…” Max sat the coffee aside, popped open the box, and inhaled a giant chunk of delicious blueberry heaven.

The blonde’s face opened up in a fit of shock, caught off guard by Max’s more than casual use of the ‘L’ word. “Really?”

Max’s face heated up, swallowing, and glancing to Rachel, then to the floor. “Uhh… yeah.”

But Rachel could see, something wasn't truthful in Max's eyes. “You were talking to the muffin, weren’t you?” She already knew the answer. “Shit, Max…”

“I’m sorry. But I…”

“No. I mean… look at your shoulders. Those are _not_ normal hickies.”

Max looked down, finding both shoulders covered in bitemarks and bruises, and, only now realizing she was still nude. Her only cover being a quilt pulled up to her waist, she drew her arms over her chest, breakfast in hand.

Rachel swept her thumb over Max’s cheek. “You’re cute as fuck, but…” She reached behind Max, grabbing her shirt and sweatpants, sitting them next to the girl. “Here. It’s only fair I guess,” she said, motioning to her own clothed torso.

“You’re still in PJ’s,” noticed Max, dropping her arms and letting go of her instinctual need to keep herself covered. “How’d you get the food?”

Rachel stole a cheerful glance at Max’s chest, and waved her phone. “I bribed Justin with the rest of my shrooms. I’ve never seen him so on-time for something.”

Max laughed out loud and smiled, grateful for the beauty responsible for such a pleasant morning, then offered her a bite of muffin.

The blonde pinched a piece off, and slipped it through her lips. “Damn. That’s _really_ good,” Rachel giggled. “Better than mine.” She pointed to a half eaten croissant sitting on her stereo system. Her smile straightened out while her eyes wandered uncomfortably around the room. “...We should talk.”

The seriousness of Rachel’s voice tensed Max’s posture. “Okay…” She said, sitting her muffin aside.

“Last night, when I asked you over to chill… I thought… _something_ might happen, but…”

“It… kinda felt like you seduced me…” Max grinned.

“You’re not wrong,” she caressed Max’s cheek, “...but every intention I had was gentle. If I’m being honest… I was still on the fence about even _leaning_ you towards anything below the waist. And then you smashed our faces together and it felt like- like not having every bit of you then and there would suffocate me or something.”

“I don’t… regret anything.”

“I know. Neither do I. Not _really_. I just- I just scared myself is all. I _choked_ you! Remember?”

Max giggled, “That was hardly choking…”

“Your face turned _red_ …”

“There could have been _other_ reasons for that.”

“All I’m saying is… you do things to me that I don’t really understand yet. And until I do, it’s probably better if we don’t… I don’t know… _explode_ into each other anymore. Just for now. Because those…” Rachel pointed to the bruises on Max’s shoulder, “...are gonna hurt for a while.”

Max couldn’t help but keep looping the words in her head. ‘You do things to me.’ _Her_. Do _things_. To _Rachel_? She shouldn’t have been shocked, but _hearing_ it made her feel immune to gravity itself.

Max caught herself before slipping too far into Rachel’s gaze to form a coherent sentence. “I get it. And just so you know… I-”

The bedroom door flew open, and a disheveled Chloe stormed inside, wildly slamming it shut and leaning her shoulder blades into it with all of her weight.

Max jolted and barked, “Shit!” Then snatched her shirt from the floor, and struggled into it with as much haste as humanly possible.

 _KLAK KLAK KLAK KLAK!_ Four heavy slams pounded against the door. “CHLOE PRICE! OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW!!”

Rachel started, “Is that…”

“It’s just a sweater, Vicky!” Chloe yelled, still vigorously holding the door shut.

“I wouldn’t expect a fucking HEATHENOUS SKANK like _YOU_ to appreciate high fashion!” Victoria retorted.

Rachel cocked her eyebrows. “Are you running from… Victoria?”

Chloe raised her voice over the constant wailing on the door at her back, “Yes! It’s either that, or KNOCK HER ASS UNCONSCIOUS!”  

“FUCK! YOU!” Victoria seethed.

“Soooo, this is for _her_ sake?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah. And…” she spoke quietly “it _was_ kinda my fault…”

Max looked to Rachel, surprised at Chloe’s admission. “Chloe… are you… taking responsibility?”

“What?! No!” Chloe snapped in an offended tone.

Max and Rachel locked eyes, both noticing something else at play in Chloe’s motivations.

“I’m not leaving until you OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!!” _KLAK KLAK KLAK!_

Rachel stared into Chloe, and spoke slowly, hoping to spur a realization in the punk, “Chloe, can you think of any _other_ reason you’d be defending Victoria’s behavior?”

Chloe thought hard, glancing between the two girls eying her expectantly, looking to Max, then to Rachel, then back to Max, then back to Rachel. She paused, “Oh…” she said, an admission to herself that Rachel’s implication was spot-on. “Fuck!” She took a deep breath, settling her nerves, and gave a sly smirk. Then she spun around, whipped the door open, and yanked Victoria into a deep kiss.

Max and Rachel couldn't believe what they were watching. What started as a kiss had ramped up into full blown make-out status. Rachel was sure she saw Victoria’s tongue diving in for more, before the prep jerked away. For a moment, it looked as though Victoria was raring back to slap Chloe across the face, but instead she pressed her fingers to her own lips, feeling Chloe’s absence while a few rogue tears ran down her cheeks. She slowly backed away, seemingly fearful of Chloe, then sped off down the hall towards her room.

Chloe turned to her friends and found Max was having trouble deciding on an emotion, but Rachel wore a disappointed scowl, not needing a voice to tell the punk what she herself already knew.

“Oh come on… don’t look at me like that.”

Rachel slapped her hands to her knees and said, “Chloe, what did you think was gonna happen?!”

“That… she’d finally admit that’s what she wanted?”

“Really? Was it that easy for _you_?!”

“Mostly. Maybe not.” Chloe sighed. “I don’t know.” A pair of panties on the floor, definitely Max’s, caught Chloe’s notice. It would’ve been the easiest thing in the world to tease Max with, but Chloe just gave the girl a sad half smile, shut the door, and sat into Rachel’s loveseat, pulling off her beanie.

Rachel hopped up and joined Chloe on the sofa. “Well… it was better than punching her.”

“Was it?” Chloe asked. “Maybe I should’ve let her keep living her nice little happy hetero lie.”

“She’d figure it out eventually. Probably not in such a dramatic way, but still.”

“Maybe.”

Max, now fully clothed, sat down into Rachel’s lap, the blonde’s arms wrapping around her waist. “You should probably just go talk to her.”

“Mighty Max,” Chloe playfully shoved the girls arm. “You couldn’t stop glowing right now if your life depended on it.”

“She’s right,” Rachel laughed, squeezing Max as if she were a teddy bear, “but don’t change the subject.”

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Sorry I stuck my tongue down your throat, and destroyed any understanding you had of yourself.’ She looked… terrified.”

“It’d be better than nothing.” Rachel worked her usual magic, tapping into Chloe’s moral compass with just her stare.

“Fuuuuck. Fine.” Chloe stood up, slipped her beanie back on, and headed towards the door. “Before I go though…” she looked to the quilt on the carpet, then shot a smirk at the duo, “...did you seriously fuck on the _floor_? The bed’s _right there,_ ” she pointed.

“Chloe…” Rachel rolled her eyes.

“It just seems uncomfortable. And… you know… less clean.”

“We did, Chloe,” Max said without so much as flinching, keeping a hint of a smile. “The bed seemed a lot further away in the moment.”

Rachel laughed and rested her head on Max’s back. “What she said.”

It was as if someone pulled a rug out from under Chloe. She’d grown so confident in her ability to make Max blush at will, to get no reaction at all left her staring like a deer caught in headlights.

“O-- Okay…” Chloe stammered. “I’m gonna go now.” She walked through the door, forgetting to close it, and started down the hallway, away from Victoria’s room.

“Wrong way, Chloe!” Max shouted.

“Right! Thanks…” She responded, correcting her course.

They spent a quiet moment thinking over Chloe's situation, before a new found peace eased over them. Though they always missed their blue haired best friend when she wasn't around, the freedom to get lost in each other any way they wanted was, in itself, an immeasurable comfort.

Rachel rocked to the side, dumping Max onto the sofa and climbing over her for a quick kiss on the lips. “What do you wanna do today?”

Max grabbed the sides of Rachel’s head and pulled her down for another kiss. “Finish breakfast before my coffee gets cold.”

The blonde giggled and said, “Right,” then stood up and pulled Max to her feet. “And then…” Rachel smiled, “... _I_ have an idea.”

 

__________

 

“It’s okay, Maxie…” Rachel empathized.

“No! This never happens to me! I swear!”

“I mean, it’s different doing it in front of somebody.”

“It shouldn’t be. You’re… you! And I do it all the time!” Max let out a heavy sigh and squeezed her eyes shut.

“We can do something else for a while. If you want, you can… practice by yourself til’ you’re ready to try again.”

The girls had donned their usual attire, each in their respective rooms, and met at Max's on the insistence she give Rachel a 'free show’.

“I’m sorry. My fingers won’t cooperate.” Max reluctantly sat aside her guitar, and put her head in her palms.

Rachel took a seat on Max’s couch, hugging the girl close, and planted a kiss on her temple. “Don’t be sorry. I’ll always be ready to hear you play. Just let me know when.”

Max snuggled in against Rachel and asked, “It’s been a while. How do you think Chloe’s doing?”

“You want the feel-good version, or the realistic version?”

“Feel-good version.”

“Chloe and Victoria are probably across the hall making out right now.”

“Mhmm…” Max hummed, smiling, then grasped at Rachel’s shirt. “The realistic version?”

“I… don’t think Victoria’s thought too much about who she really _is_ , only who she’s _supposed_ to be. And that’s coming from _me_ of all people _._ It might take some convincing for her to open up to Chloe the way it looked like she wants to.”

Max’s smirking gaze and questioning eyebrows caught Rachel’s attention.

“You were staring at my feet again,” Max teased.

“I swear, I _don’t_ have a foot thing! It’s just _you_!”

“Uh huh…”

“Stop being adorable and we wouldn’t have this problem!”

_THUNK!_

A single loud smash against Max’s wall was followed by the echoed slamming of a door.

“The fuck?” Rachel said.

The girls scurried into the hallway. Pieces of a smashed ‘Agent Bluberry’ anime figurine sat under a newly placed dent in the wall by Max’s door frame, while Chloe stared blankly at Victoria’s closed door.

Max eased next to Chloe, and comforted the punk with a hand on her shoulder. “Chloe?”

Chloe’s stare stayed locked on the door.

“Chloe,” Max tried again.

This time Chloe glanced to Max, and offered a quick grin that was more of a ‘Thanks for giving a shit’ than it was a smile. “I’m fine,” Chloe lied. It wasn’t a lie she expected Max to believe, she was only hoping to stave off any more sympathy, or pity, or whatever _that look_ was.

The three turned and eyed Victoria’s broken figurine. Max had seen it a few times. A kick-ass blue skinned, blue haired, secret agent girl, holding her gun in that ‘ready for action’ pose. A single guilty pleasure for someone that wasn’t supposed to have _any._

Chloe slowly walked over and picked up a few pieces of Agent Bluberry, trying in vain to reassemble her. “Fuck!” she erupted, frustratedly dropping to a knee and snatching up the remaining pieces.

“Come on, Chloe,” Max motioned to her room, “We’ll find a bag.”

Once inside, Max grabbed a plastic shopping bag from a bundle she kept in the corner of a dresser drawer, and helped Chloe store Bluberry’s remains.

“Chlo,” Rachel began. “You wanna talk…”

“No,” Chloe snapped, immediately regretting her tone. “Sorry, just… not now.”

They stood in silence until the smallest hint of an honest smile came to Chloe’s lips as she looked between her friends. “I know I’ve been fuckin’ around a little, but I am actually happy for…” she took a moment to consider her word choice, “...whatever it is you two have together…”

Max contained her urge to dance, and jump, and celebrate her best friend’s open approval, and instead settled on a heartfelt smile. “Thanks… Chloe. That means a lot. Really. And, _we_ don’t really know what this is either, yet,” Max admitted shyly.

A tinge of worry came to Chloe’s face. “Just… make sure to keep some Chloe-time in mind.”

Max rolled her eyes, then grabbed Rachel’s hand and swung her behind the punk, enveloping Chloe in a best friend hug-sandwich,  prompting smiles all around, “It’s _always_ ‘Chloe-time’, you dork.”

“Alright, alright,” Chloe stepped out of the duo’s embrace, “If I cry, we’re throwin’ down, Caulfield.”

“Pffft… like you could take me with Rachel on my side.”

“Please…” Chloe sassed. “Chlos before hoes. Right Rach?”

Rachel backed away, waving her hands. “Don’t look at _me_! I'm totally neutral,” she smirked, crossing her arms.

_Buzz Buzzz_

Max checked her vibrating smartphone. “Rachel…” she sent a playfully stern stare towards the blonde, “would you happen to know why Victoria is named ‘Vic- _bore-_ ia’ in my phone now?”

Rachel let out a tiny giggle before noticing Chloe's stiff expression. “Sorry.”

“Chloe…” Max held her phone out.

The punk sighed and plucked the device from Max's hand as it vibrated a second time.

 

**Vic-bore-ia: If she's still here could you ask her to come back**

**Vic-bore-ia: Please**

 

“You going?” Max asked, taking back her phone.

“I guess,” Chloe clutched the bag holding what was left of Agent Bluberry. “Any advice?”

“Be yourself?” Max shrugged.

“Yeah. That worked out great last time.”

Rachel chimed in, “Honesty, Chloe. Without the insults. I'm guessing she doesn't get a lot of it.”

Max added, “Who better to give it to her than Chloe-saurus Rex?”

“...” Chloe might as well have tried to glare a hole through Max's head. “That is _NOT_ becoming a thing.”

“Roar.” Rachel teased, clawing at the air with pretend T-Rex hands.

Chloe lightly swatted Max's shoulder, and eased backwards to the door, “I'm leaving _now_ , before it sticks.” She offered both girls a delicate smile before stepping into the hallway. “Later.”

The two watched from Max's room as Chloe gave an apprehensive knock on Victoria's door, if only to make sure there wasn't a knock-out punch waiting on the other side. The door swung open, and Chloe was yanked inside before it was, again, slammed shut.

“Well,” Rachel started, her eyes drifting down Max’s legs, passed her knees and ankles, “Maybe it'll go better the second time?”

“Rachel…” Max waved her hand in front of the blonde's face, getting her attention.

“What?”

“Feet! Again!”

“It's-- You-- I'm not--” Rachel sighed and, with a crooked grin, resigned from her attempts at forming one of her usual clever retorts, her face turning a shade of red Max had never seen from the girl. “Fine.”

“Are- are you blushing?” Max asked softly.

“Like I said, Maxie,” Rachel swept the brunette's hair over her ear, “You do things to me I don't understand yet.”

_I, Max Caulfield, made Rachel Amber blush. That's enough proof for me… We're definitely in the Matrix._

A hand wrapped around Rachel's wrist and dragged her back into the room. Max kicked the door shut, and sensually walked the bombshell backwards, closing any distance between them. Then shoved Rachel on to her bed.

“I’m starting to like where this is headed,” Rachel smirked, leaning back on her palms, on top of Max's still unmade sheets.

“Yeah?” Max climbed over the blonde, teasing her with the closeness of their lips. Then laid back into a pillow, propping her hands behind her head, and left Rachel hanging.

“Umm… Max? What was-” But before Rachel could finish her thought, Max's feet dropped into her lap. It was almost painful trying to contain her smile. “Would you like a foot massage, ma'am?” Rachel asked with a loving playfulness.

“Why yes, Grand Masseuse Amber. Thanks so much for asking.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, you should keep tabs on the series it's in. That's where the Chaseprice follow up will go, along with any more in this Amberfield story.


End file.
